Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Wayne State University Athletics

0
Davenport DU (13-10, 3-3)
7
Winner Wayne State WSUM (17-9, 4-1)
Davenport DU
(13-10, 3-3)
0
Final
7
Wayne State WSUM
(17-9, 4-1)
Winner
Niklas Karcz at Michigan Tech (04-01-2023)
Niklas Karcz made history as the first Warrior to reach 100 career singles wins.

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Karcz's 100th Career Singles Victory Propels Men's Tennis to Win Over Davenport

The Warriors had several notable performances in the conference triumph.

DETROIT -- The No. 14-ranked Wayne State University men's tennis team (17-9 overall, 4-1 GLIAC) further solidified its seeding for next week's GLIAC Tournament following a 7-0 victory against visiting Davenport (13-10 overall, 3-3 GLIAC) on Friday at the Duchene Athletic Facility.

It was a historic day for the program, as WSU graduate student Niklas Karcz (Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia) recorded his 100th career singles triumph in the win.

DOUBLES
The Warriors picked up victories from the first and third positions in doubles action to garner the first match point of the day.

Winning at the No. 1 spot were the third-ranked pairing of Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) and Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany).  The two notched a 7-5 victory over Jan Stolin and Joel Mast.  For Drenth, the doubles win marked his 30th for the fall and spring seasons combined, passing Sebastien Foka's 29 from the 2002-03 season for most doubles wins in a single season.  Grey tied Foka's 29 with the triumph.

Also victorious in doubles were Dom Spicer (London, England) and Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark).  They defeated Subash Paramasivam and Daniil Khitrou, 6-0.  The pair have clicked as of late, winning both finished matches this spring.

Falling by a 6-3 mark at the second flight were Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) and Karcz against Carlos Henriquez and Simone Pacciolla.

SINGLES
Another bright spot for the Green and Gold was the heroic effort of Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich.) at the No. 6 spot.  The junior, playing in his fifth singles contest of the season, lost 6-3 in the first set to Pacciolla, but then rattled off a pair of thrilling 7-6 tie-breaking wins to grab the win.  The first was by a 7-6 (7-3) score, followed by a 7-6 (7-4) victory in the match clincher.

Drenth and Grey nearly blanked their opponents at the first two spots.  Drenth, the No. 26-ranked singles player, recorded a 6-0, 6-2 win over Paramasivam at the top flight, while Grey posted the inverse (6-2, 6-0) in his triumph against Stolin at the No. 2 position.

Karcz's 100th career singles victory came over Mast, and he needed a comeback effort to earn it.  After falling 6-2 in the opening set, the Warrior won 6-0 in the second set and 6-3 in the final set to secure history.  It was his ninth consecutive singles victory, improving him to 17-5 in spring dual matches.

Spicer and Denali Kitayama (West Bloomfield Township, Mich.) also tallied wins in straight sets.  The No. 59-ranked Spicer dropped Khitrou by scores of 6-3 and 6-2, while Kitayama notched victories of 7-5 and 6-1 over Henriquez.

FROM COACH MORROW
"Another great match from the guys.  We played well across the board and picked up a nice win.  Good for Niklas [Karcz] for his 100th singles victory, and Joe [Steele] for his great effort in picking up a tight, hard-fought victory," said Bryan Morrow.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will finish the regular season with a 10 a.m. match vs. Purdue Northwest on Saturday.

 
Print Friendly Version

Related Headlines